Recent content by Active_Lad

I've travelled on occasions from Grantham to Stockport. The "official" route is with EMT on their Norwich -> Liverpool 2 Car Units that have no catering and no first class. So I route via Doncaster on East Coast and TPE and have always been very impressed with TPE. Not only is it about 25...

Quite a lot of photos here of the mess: http://richardarmstrong.fotopic.net/c1783089.html

Hardly eco-friendly though...

A Jammie Dodger for the first Train Manager to welcome passengers aboard "Nationalised Express" I'd be happy with First or Virgin, but if the Bahamians get their act together maybe we'll see the return of good old GNER. After all, the rebranding costs wouldn't be much at all! :D

No news yet about NX's other franchises, but it just seems to me a bit odd that DfT would create a holding company (DOR) just for East Coast. Almost as though they were creating a regime for other renationalisations... Perhaps I'm being cynical, but maybe the Govt is putting together...

Interestingly NXEC's Website went offline immediately. Someone was working late.

Well that's it. All over. Goodbye and Good Riddance to NXEC :P

Can someone post a link? I've done a quick and a long search and can't find it!

They're saying it's an obstruction between Newark and Grantham. Fallen tree perhaps? It has been very windy in the area all day. I've lost my TV aerial!

Other than you don't have to spend 8 minutes in Grantham? :wink: Seriously, it is shocking that a layover in Grantham and half an hour on a Sprinter will get you home quicker than direct on MML.

And is still used today on roadsigns. The loss of GNER to NXEC was a blow in so many ways. The quality of service these days on the ECML is in the toilet. :cry:

It depends a lot on what you factor into the equation regarding "cost". Diesel traction has to carry its own fuel about which in itself requires more fuel. You also have to carry an engine to convert the fuel into something useful (depending on the type of traction motor used) which makes the...

There is also the issue of weight. With a multiple unit you distribute the weight of the propulsion units across multiple axles whereas a loco-hauled train has all the propulsion weight on a couple of axles. This leads to increased track wear. Plus, as others have pointed out, you avoid...

I have to admit the EMT line between Skegness and Nottingham isn't great, although I was suprised to be stopped at a Level Crossing recently by one of the saturday HST workings. I thought it was on a diversion! I travel regularly to London and live less than 2 miles from Heckington. It would...